In the event of an emergency, could you reach your traveling students, staff, and faculty?

By Guy La Corte

January 9th, 2018

Three steps to effectively use technology to better manage travel risk management in higher education

Imagine a scenario where a group of faculty and students are traveling. Pretty typical, right? Now imagine that destination unexpectedly becomes the epicenter of a 6.4 magnitude earthquake. Immediately, the you ask yourself: Do we have anyone there? Who are they? Are they ok? How can we quickly confirm the faculty and students’ safety? How can we provide support for those who need it? What will we tell their frantic families?

This is every administrator’s worst nightmare. On any given day, you likely have faculty that are halfway around the world facilitating research; student athletes traveling to sporting events in another state; or even a choir traveling across town for a concert. Regardless of the distance traveled, as an administrator you have a legal and moral responsibility to ensure their safety and security always–whether there is an incident or not.

Incidents can scale from something as simple as someone getting sick or having an allergic reaction to unexpected political unrest. Regardless, you need to be asking yourself, am I ready? Do I know where all the traveling students, faculty, and staff are right now? Do I have the systems in place to quickly communicate with my students and staff? Do they know who to reach out to for help?

Next page: Challenges higher-ed institutions face when it comes to travel-risk management

Guy La Corte is General Manager of Americas Distribution for SAP Concur. In this role, he is responsible for customer acquisition and distribution efforts for the company’s largest accounts in the U.S. and Canada.